The Children If one were set out to find the perfect example for the word "cacophony" one might be hard pressed to find a better one than a classroom full of children. The classroom itself was not particularly large to begin with. It was attached to an equally small school that almost felt tucked away in some corner of the city. On the way there, through Hana's questionable translation of Constable's noises, they learned that this school was one of several set up for children orphaned by attacks from the invaders from other worlds. This might explain why the children seemed to range from four to ten years of age. But of course children, regardless of age or upbringing, when put into a room and told to focus would do exactly not that. As soon as they saw the Guardians enter, many recognizing Constable immediately, they began to all speak up at once. The teacher, a small, harried looking man with a tiny hat and a long mustache, was trying to settle them down to no avail. He glanced over at the four Guardians with an apologetic but pleading gaze as if hoping one of them could do something to at least lessen the chaos. The Mansion Rona offered Fen and Kasayee a ride on her wyvern, though Cormag didn't seem so keen to transport all three of them. At first Kasayee had seemed unwilling to go at all but after Rona said something Fen couldn't quite hear she seemed much more motivated and transformed into a bird to set off (and had to be reminded she doesn't know the directions). When they arrived at the mansion it was very clearly overgrown and boarded up. An fence of some sort of energy surrounded it but the mansion itself looked much more low tech. It was located atop of a hill and even the stone steps leading up to it were cracked and partly overtaken by flora. When they arrived Rona dismounted from Cormag and asked him to wait at the bottom of the hill as they set about to business. Fen would notice some saddle bags that Rona took off that seemed to contain equipment they'd need to clean up the building.  Kasayee started straight for the front door, ignoring everything else, and Rona let out a sigh. The wyvern rider glanced up at the mansion and Fen would notice she seemed to pale at something she saw. Looking in the same direction Fen would notice something behind one badly boarded up window. A bit of movement and perhaps the outline of a person. "Right...I guess I should mention. Another reason that no one has come to clean this place up." Rona gave Fen a strained smile, "apparently its been haunted for years."

The shadows descended on Chris. Within seconds, perhaps even less, they would be in reach. At the same time the shadows that the creature had created were dropping to the ground and ready to make their move as well. Lana ran towards the Nightwalker and as she raised her axe the massive creature stared directly at her. The glowing orbs that were its eyes burning into her as she prepared to swing. Ziun's ice landed across its arm and body. Several of them shattering as they struck its strangely solid body. Lana swung her axe. But before she made contact...a cold wind blow all around them and the creature let out a low, mournful, groan. The trees shook and the shadows began to spasm and twitch uncontrollably. And then as if blown away by the wind the Nightwalker faded away and scattered into dust and then....nothing. The forest was still. Silent. As if nothing had been there to begin with. They felt a compulsion to return to where they had entered this floor and when they did they saw a trap door that hadn't been there before. Going down the stairs behind it would lead them into a cramped room with barely enough headspace for them. At the opposite end was another set of doors and to the right there was a large chest. While to the left was a portal that would lead them back to the surface.  

"Ugh," the girl let out a displeased groan as she saw the creature begin to lift its arm up and spawn more of the shadows from itself. She had no way to kill them and the three that were already out and around were too much for her to handle. Not to mention just one striking her was enough to send a chill through her, she hardly wanted to imagine what would happen if several at once did. Thankfully Chris seemed to be distracting the shadows that were already around and the others ones that fell from its body were, hopefully, more enticed by the icicles that Ziun had been firing out. "Don't need to tell me twice!" The girl shouted back to Ziun. Taking a deep breath the girl gripped her axe tighter as she bent her legs. As fast as she could, the girl shot forward in a sprint towards the creature, fighting through the chill and pain that ached through her body. The monster attempted to stand upright, its one foot stomped into the ground as it braced itself, and gave the girl an easy target to run after.  The girl closed in on the creature's leg, winding her axe back before she stopped in front of the creature. Then with all the remaining strength she could muster she swung her axe as if she aimed to bring down a tree in this single strike, straight at the creature's leg.